Then Pilate handed Him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and carrying the cross Himself, He went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him. (Mt. 27:33-36) Being sentenced to die on the cross, Jesus was... made to suffer the worst type of punishment reserved only to the worst type of criminals. Prior to His crucifixion, He was scourged, beaten with rods, and a crown of thorns was pressed into His skull.

Aside from the extreme physical pain He endured, Jesus must have felt so alone seeing Himself abandoned on the cross by almost all His apostles, save for His mother and three women along with John. He expired after a few hours of agonizing emotional and physical pain amidst the jeers and insults of those who came to witness His humiliation. Pilate had publicly heralded Jesus as "The King of the Jews," no doubt to irritate and annoy the chief priests and Pharisees.

Quite ironically, it was this very title "awarded" by Pilate to Jesus that gave Him and the Romans a reason to consider Jesus a threat when He told Pilate: "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If My kingdom did belong to this world, My attendants would be fighting to keep Me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, My kingdom is not here." So Pilate said to Him, "Then You are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say I am a king…" (John 18:36-37)

As for the Jews, they had understood that the Messiah would come as king to establish God’s reign for them. They wanted, therefore, a king who would free them from tyranny and foreign domination. Many had high hopes that Jesus would be the Messianic king. Little did they understand what kind of kingship Jesus claimed to have. Jesus came to conquer hearts and souls for an imperishable kingdom, rather than to conquer perishable lands and entitlements. Jesus’ parting words, "It is finished!" expressed triumph rather than defeat. Jesus bowed His head and gave up His spirit, knowing that He had given everything of Himself for the salvation of humanity.

It would be hard, indeed, to see the Cross of Christ as a sign of victory if we are not able to realize that it wasn’t just the mere endurance of the suffering of Jesus that saved us, but rather, the love and forgiveness of Jesus that is the source of our salvation. Jesus’ act of sacrificing His life was full of compassion which, in its simplest terms, means to "suffer with love. "We can find no greater proof of God’s love for us than the willing sacrifice of His Son Jesus who died on the cross for love of us.

The Cross begins to make sense the very moment we see that love is more powerful than anger, hatred, and death. The Cross of Christ, far from being a decoration or just an external badge of identity, is the very substance of our pain and struggle. It tells us there is hope for us even at our very worst and seemingly trying and helpless situation. It extends beyond us at both ends of the scale – it measures our life and gives meaning to it.